User blog:Ouroburos.TheNewSaurian/JEDPL Topics: Andrew Love, WTF!?!?
How are we doing, my fellow children? It is me for the umpteenth time, Ouroburos the Extreme Conquerer! Since last week, I have decided on taking a short hiatus until, at least, in the middle of September. But... That absolutely doesn't mean I'll be absent. Non, non, non, not in the slightest, my brethren! I mentioned a week ago that I would be keeping you updated with a few of these new blogs of mine. In case if you're even wondering why I'm posting these, well... I'm f***ing bored, that's all! About every one of the blogs are topics of certaing things I feel like addressing and sharing my thoughts as best as I can, in summary form, of course. My first topic will be regarding a certain comic and media franchise that I SWEAR TO GOD I'm not a fanboy over, but it's practically in every shape here... excluding the background. Ladies and gentlemen, Sentai Filmworks' English dub of Medaka Box! Opinion I really shouldn't have to keep talking and talking and talking about this series, everybody. Just so I don't have to overexert myself further, browse this prediction and review. Please, please, do this at your own time or immediately so nobody here gets confused! I am not held responsible for whatever happens to your ever-so-precocious minds... Yeah, so Gainax's adaptation of Medaka Box, blah blah blah, received an English dub courtesy of Sentai Filmworks, who tend to bring out hit-or-miss efforts; Highschool of the Dead and Xenosaga, for examples, had overall great dubs (according to me), but Guin Saga and Demon King Daimano were sort of questionable at best. Much of this isn't helped by the fact that a majority of these English dubs have been directed by Steven Foster, and oh sure, the fans can expect different names every once in a while such as Christopher Ayres or maybe Kyle Jones, but this is still an instance of "Never Live It Down". Although Sentai Filmworks' Medaka Box will not be available on Blu-ray and DVD here in North America until WHO KNOWS WHEN, I was a lucky bastard. I went to the Anime Tycoon (which is where I've been watching Accel World) website and watched the dubbed episodes of the series there and, by God, was I surprised at how fast those came out. I completed a total of eleven episodes, not really bothering to wrap it up with the twelfth and final episode; THAT'S FILLER!! It all comes down to this question: Is the Medaka Box English dub another one of Sentai's usual works or a perfect masterpiece, or is it as awful as the plague? {sighs} Directed by Steven Foster, obviously, the English dub of Medaka Box was decent, if a bit on the awkward side of things occasionally. Much of the voice cast, barring Hilary Haag as Hansode Shiranui and maybe Greg Ayres as Myouri Unzen, was unexpected. The script is about as well-executed as a gigantic teddy bear filled with hearts and rainbows and whatever other cutesy shit girls are into; in other words, excellent. Two problems, however, occurred right from the start: opting to retain the honorifics and mispronunciated names. I suppose the latter is justified seeing how Foster's usually more concerned with the overall performances of the actors, but the former? Be a little more natural like other companies I know, guys, since some folks out there will have no idea what "-chan", "-kun", or even "-sama" mean. As for the voice acting itself, it sure is a mixed bag. Shelley Calene-Black shows the proper attitude and charisma on handling Medaka Kurokami, but compared to Aki Toyosaki, she can be a bit underwhelming. Luckily, that isn't so much an issue when Andrew Love as Zenkichi Hitoyoshi is finally brought up. Seriously, what the actual hell, Sentai?! You decide not to have Vic Mignogna, Blake Shepard, or Chris Patton, but instead someone who has a helluva deep voice. I read up on the TV Tropes article involving Andrew that he is difficult to pigeonhole, and can do pretty much any type of character except for Kid Heroes... It went so far as to the point where I pictured Adam Blade instead of Zenkichi himself. Foster probably chose the people he worked with the most, rather than picking the ones more adequate. Last but not least, the rest of the cast does a passable job at bringing the characters to life as much as possible, especially Greg Ayres as Unzen! Some of the background roles are more on the inconsistent level, but hey! At least Monica Rial as Nekomi Nabeshima isn't half-bad, all things considered; didn't even recognize her at first! Hahaha. "Screw the rules, I have green hair!" 18:47, August 17, 2013 (UTC) Ouroburos the Extreme Conquerer Category:Blog posts